Mob Justice: Woman lynched in Tamil Nadu

A 65-year-old woman was lynched by a mob in southern India who believed that she was a child trafficker, police said on Friday, announcing the arrests of some two dozen suspects. The crime took place in the state of Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district on Wednesday following rumors and false messages on Facebook and WhatsApp about the kidnapping of children in the region.

The woman, who was traveling with her relatives in a car, had stopped to ask directions to a local temple when she saw some children playing in the area and gave them chocolates, local police officer K Neelavadakkan said. “Villagers who have been unnerved by the fake messages on child abductions gathered around the car and started shouting at them, accusing them of being child kidnappers,” he said.

“They managed to drive away but were blocked by mobs a short distance away, where they were dragged out, punched and kicked, and beaten by sticks. The woman died on the scene, while four others, including the driver, were seriously injured,” he added. Neelavadakkan said that there had been no incidents of kidnapping or child trafficking in the area, but rumors were circulating wildly.

Increasing incidents of ‘mob lynching’ and the silence of the Modi government has encouraged more hate groups and terrorists who have struck fear into the hearts of Muslims and the lower-caste Indians.

Police had arrested 23 out of a total of 62 suspects from the mob, and two more were detained on Friday for questioning. Incidents of mob justice and vigilantism are frequently reported in India. Last month, a man was mistaken for a thief and beaten to death by crowds in the same state. Madhu, a 27-year-old who lived in a tribal colony in Attapady forest, was beaten under the suspicion that he was a thief. Madhu died inside the police van while being taken to the police station.

a group of people caught Madhu, who was accused of stealing rice from a nearby store. The mob rounded him up and started questioning him. They stripped Madhu and tied his hands with his own bottom wear. The video of the incident shows people frisking Madhu and checking his bag. A person can be seen beating Madhu from behind. Some people clicked selfies with Madhu. Madhu was later handed over to the local police and died on the way to the police station.

According to local police, Madhu could have been suffering from mental illness. Last year, mobs killed six people in the eastern state of Jharkhand on suspicions that they had kidnapped children. Most of the victims Few right-wing groups, and the local traders’ body in Uttarakhand’s Agastyamuni town, on Friday, vandalized up to 15 shops owned by Muslim traders in the town, after a fake video was shared on social media along with statements alleging that a 10-year-old Hindu girl had been raped by a Muslim man in the town.

At least 2,000 persons gathered near the police station at Agastyamuni, on Friday morning, demanding justice for the alleged rape victim. Simultaneously, up to 15 shops of Muslim traders were vandalized by the agitators, including people from the town’s traders’ body, a local students’ group Jai Ho, and members of the ABVP.are the disaffected minorities of India who are targeted for religious or social purposes.

The woman, who was travelling with her relatives in a car, had stopped to ask directions to a local temple when she saw some children playing in the area and gave them chocolates, local police officer K Neelavadakkan said.

In April, India’s descent into brutal mob attacks under the BJP government has disturbed many. The fact that most of the victims belong to minorities points to religiopolitical machinations. For the last 30 months, a climate of fear and insecurity is created by repeated, deliberate, divisive and provocative statements. Empowered Hindutva fundamentalists are seeking to impose a single uniform ethic in diverse domains such as food, dress, culture or thinking.

With the rise of the Hindutva fundamentalist BJP to power in 2014, Hindutva militants have become prominent in most parts of India. These brutal militants have enacted savage murders of mainly Muslims on various reasons such as “Gau Raksha” (Cow protection) and “Love Jihad”. In the name of protecting Hindus, Saffron terrorists have unleashed violence in several parts of India. Increasing incidents of ‘mob lynching’ and the silence of the Modi government has encouraged more hate groups and terrorists who have struck fear into the hearts of Muslims and the lower-caste Indians.

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